Inks and markers are frequently removed by manual cleaning using rapidly evaporating solvents prior to the actual automated aqueous cleaning of the surface. The disadvantage of this process step is an enhanced risk due to the release of highly flammable substances and the risk of injury to persons during the application thereof. Moreover, the use of these solvents also has a negative impact on the environment due to so-called “VOC” (VOC or VOCs is an acronym for volatile organic compound[s]). Further, in the case of the conventionally used detergents, a significant amount of erosion of metallic substrate occurs during the removal of inks and markers.
It is an object of the invention to propose a detergent that allows the gentle removal of inks and markers from metallic surfaces. A “gentle removal” in terms of the present invention is understood to be an “erosion-free” treatment of the substrate with a metallic surface, wherein an erosion of metallic substrate amounts to less than 0.1 μm/h.
Further, if used as a cleaning bath, the detergent should take on the function of a separate/manual pre-cleaning.
Further, the detergent according to the invention should be suitable for cleaning metallic surfaces that may be contaminated with non-polar organic contaminants such as oil(s) and/or other predominantly or entirely organic contaminants such as grease(s), soap(s) and/or further metal processing agent(s) such as for example drawing additives including anionic organic compounds and particle impurities.